Weighing apparatus.



No. 727,299. PATENTED MAY 5 1903.

' L. E. GOWEY.

WEIGHING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 5,1902.

`Z SHEETS-SHEET 2'.

Zz Weiz (071 UNITED STATES Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD EUGENE COWEY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

WEIGHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,299, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed September 5, l902. Serial No.'122.229. (No niodehV To (all, whom, it 11i/(ty concern.: v

Be it known` that I, LEONARD` EUGENE COWEY, engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Clun House, Street, Strand, London, England,haveinvent ed certain new and useful Improvements Relating .to Weighing Apparatus, of which' the following is a specification.

This invention relates to weighing apparatus, and has reference particularly7 to .that class of such apparatus in which a weightis acted upon and moved to a greater or less extent, according to the weight of the goods placed upon'l the goods-pan or weighing-receptacle, the apparatus being so constructed thatthe greater the downward movement of thel goods-pan or weighing-receptacle under the weight of the goods placed upon it the smaller will be theleverage-through which the goods act on the said weight.

The chief object of construct apparatus of this kind that it shall indicate in a simple and efficient manner on a suitable computing-scale both the weight and the monetary value of the goods being weighed at various rates oreither the weight or the value of said goods.

According to my invention I provide a bent lever or beam having its fulcr'um situated in a piece pivotally suspended from or otherwise suitably attached to the upper end of an appropriate pillaror support, said bent lever being Ladapted to move in a vertical plane. One end of said lever is weighted, and the other end has a goods-pan, weighing-receptacle, or the like pivotally suspended or otherwise connected therewith. The goods when placed in the goods-pan cause the weighted end of said lever to rise and the end bearing the goods-pan to descend to a greater or less extent in accordance with the weight ofthe goods. ver are transmitted by suitable mechanism, suchas a segmental toothed rack and a pinion, to a shaftv carrying a drum or drums bearing the signs for indicating the weight and the monetary value of the goods being weighed, said signs being exhibited contiguous to a scale suitably graduated tov-indicate the various rates at which the goods are bein'gysold.

In order that my said invention may be Surreyl my invention is to'soduly oscillating.

The movements of the said bent le-` clearly understood and readily carried into Iwill describe the same morefully practice,V v

to the accom panyingdrawings,

with reference in Which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the coinplete apparatus. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the upper part of the apparatus, this section being taken at right angles to that shown by Fig. l. Fig. 3 isa horizontal section taken approximately on the line l 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken approximately on the line 2 2 .of Fig. "2. Fig. 5vis a face view of the segmental toothed rack. Figs. 6 and 7 are detail plan views showing means for taking up the backlash between the rack and pinion, as hereinafter described. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a port-ion of the upper part of the apparatus, showing a brake devicefor causing the'pivoted leveror beam of theappara'tus to come to rest without un- Fig. 9 is a vertical section showing a modified form of the said brake device. Fig. 10 is a side elevation, and Fig. 11 a face View, ofthe aforesaid toothed rack provided with means for adjusting the same .to correctly gear with the pinion. Fig. 12 is a detail view showing the computing-drums arranged in cyclometer form. l

In all the figures like characters of reference indicate similar parts.

A is the bent lever or weighing-beam.'y A' is the weight adjustably mounted at one end of said lever, the opposite end of said lever. `B is the pillar or support to which said leveris pivoted. C is the computing or indicating drum. Referring more particularlytoFigs. l to 4, the said bent lever or beam A has its fulcrum in a frame AX, which istconnected to the upper ally suspended fro'nl a link AXXX, which is in turn pivotally suspended from tbe upper end of the pillar or support B, the pivotal` connections of the frame to the link and the link to the pillar being such that said frame and link are capable of freely rocking in planes at right angles to each other, so that the drum C and the casing'A will always asand A2 the goods-pan `hinged at,`

cover of a non-rotary casing AXX, "inclosing the druin C. This frame is pivot-J sume a truly vertical `position regardless ofv inequalities of the surface upon which the apparatus stands,

and as a consequence the lower end of said scale or indications of saiddrurn will always truly stand at zero when the apparatus is at rest and without goods in the goods-pan. The fulorum of the bent lever comprises a knife-edge a, resting upon concave bearings a a', of agate or other appropriate material, in the frame AX." The ends of said knifeedge a are formed witli pointed cylindrical extensions a2 a2, which enter vertical slots a3 a3 in brackets a4 (t4, secured to the upright members of the frame AX, these slots being so arranged that the said cylindrical extensions of the knifeedge will be free to turn axially therein without participating in any substantial lateral movement. The pointed ends of the said extensions lie nearly in con,- tact with the back wall of' the said slots, so thaty the knife-edge will not be able to shift longitudinally, but will, nevertheless, be capable of turning axially with very little friction. A pin a5 extends across each ofthe slots a3 at a point just above,` the cylindrical ends of the knife-edge and prevents the lat.- ter from rising verticallyto anyundue extent. The knife-edge of the bent lever or beam is thus eectually prevented from becoming displaced in its bearings.

C is a vertical shaft carrying the drum C by means of annular frames C2 C2, each of which is connected, respectively, to the drum and the shaft. The upper end of the shaft is reduced in diameter at c 'and projects through a slot c2, formed in a cap c3, screwing into the upper cover of the casing AXX. The

shaft is formed with a concavity c4 to rest upon a pointed support a7, carried by the lower cover of the said casing.

`The shaft is 1h us free to easily turn and carry with it the drum C. d

A4 is a bent arm which is attached at its upper end to one side of the lever A at a point above the fulcrum of the latter. `This arm projects downwardly through a slot a6 in the upper cover of the casing and enters the interior of the drum, Where it is provided with the segmental toothed rack as, that gears with the pinion c5 on the'shaft C and actuates the same when the bent lever A is rocked. Surrounding the said cap c3 is a recess cti in the frame AX, said recess being closed by a screw-cap d10. Within said recess is arranged a spring a, that keeps the upper end of the shaft C' pressed in a direction to take up the backlash between the teeth of the rack a8 and pinion c5, the aforesaid slot c2 in the cap c? permitting of thismovement. In order to prevent the entrance of dustinto theinterior of the drum and its casing, I cover the saidy slot a6 by a taper casing C3, which at its upper end conforms to theshape of a circular boss a12 on the arm A4. This boss lies concentric with the fulcrum of the lever A, so that it freely turns in vthe casing when the but it meets the said casing so closely as to forni a dust-tight joint therewith.`

-Instead of employing'asingle spring a, asl

yof the requisite weight for represented in Figs. i, 2, and 6, I may employr two of such' springs arranged at right angles to each other, as shown in Fig. 7, and in this case instead of providing a slot c2 in the cap lc3 there would beacircular aperture c6, Fig. 7.

The lower end of the lever A is provided with the weight A', which 'is adjustable on said lever. For this purpose the weight has a central hole in it through which. a stem a on the lever passes, said threaded to receive nuts am. By turning these nuts the position of the weight on said stem can be varied in accordance with requirements. The said weightis also provided with a cavity L15 for receiving a plug of lead accurately adjust` ing the position of the said weight A' when the apparatus is at rest. jm

The lower cover of the casing is formed with a cavity am, into which the upper end ofa vertical rod b projects for limiting the extent to which the drum and casing can move in a lateral direction.

b is a buter comprising a spring-arm se-` cured to the lower part of the standard B and occupying such a position relatively to the weighted end of the arm A that 'it will be struck thereby when the arm assumes its normal position aft-era weighing operation. The free end of said spring-arm is covered with india-rubber, felt, or other terial b2 for deadening any noise that might be produced by the striking of the said weighted end of the lever against the metal surface of said spring-arm.

The aforesaid drum periphery with figures or ksigns representing the monetary values of the goodsweighed and at its upper part isprovided with a horizout-al row ot' figures'or signs representing the weightof the goods being weighed. These figures or signs may be arrangedin any other appropriate manner. The casing is formed with two vertical slots A5 A6, Fig. 3,.Which stem being screw`` appropriate ma.

ICO

C is provided on its k IIO are glazed and so arrangedr that one can be seen by the salesman and the other by the purchaser. I

In order to insure that the lever Ashall be brought quickly to restwhen veecting a weighingoperation, so that 'the computin'gdrum shall not unduly oscillate and render` the reading of its indications dicult, I pro- Vide a brake device which may be of the kind illustrated in Fig.8. This device is arranged vwithin the casing AXX and comprisesla pair of arms d d, freely suspended from a crossbar OZ,y carried by'a spindle d2, whichs pivotedin bearingsddg9 Surroundingthe,lower` ends of said suspended levers d is a fixed ring d4, which is conc'entriclwith, the spindle d2. The free ends of the arms dare bent to form projections or shoes d5, that normally lie close to but do not touch the interior surface of the ring d4. Carried Vby the vertical shaft C is a toothed wheel ci, which gears with a small toothedpinion d6, carried by the spindle d2.

This toothed pinion d6 is small as compared with the wheel c7, and therefore when the shaft C is turned by the rack aS and pinion ci during a Weighing operation it imparts a rapid rotation to the spindle d2, with the result that the arms are caused by centrifugal force to fly outward and to bring their bent ends into contact with the inner surface of the ring d4. A retarding action will thus be exerted on the 'movement of said spindle and the shaft C', whereby the lever A, and consequently the computing-drum, will be quickly brought to rest in the position they assume in the weighing operation. In order to avoid straining the parts of the apparatus by thus suddenly bringing the said lever to rest, I prefer not to iiX the said toothed wheel c7 rigidly to the shaft C, but to mount it loosely on said shaft and connect it with the latter by a friction-coupling, which in the example zo illustrated comprises a spring-disk es, carried by a square portion c9 of the shaft, so as to be capable of turning therewith. This springdisk is pressed against the. under surface of the toothed wheel c7 with the requisite degree of pressure by a nut co, screwedv upon the shaft C', said shaft being provided with a fixed collar c11 above the toothed'wheel, which collar serves as a point of resistance against which the Wheel is pressed by the springdisk. Therefore when the lever A is rocked suddenly the resulting shock is prevented from being transmittedy to the other parts by reason of the wheel c7 turning to someextent on the shaft C.

Instead of using the device shown by Fig. 8 I may use the simplified arrangement shown by Fig. 9. In this case I loosely mount on the shaft C a fly-wheel cl2, resting upon a collar 013 of said shaft. The friction exist- 4o ing between the wheel cl2 and collar cl3 is suficient to prevent the shaft C' from vibrating angularly when the weighted end of the lever A is coming to rest in weighing, and therefore insures that the said drum shall not unduly oscillate.

I Wish it to be understood that I do not desire to confine myself to the above-described devices for bringing the leverA and the indicating-drum quickly to rest, as any other 5o suitable contrivance may be used for such 6o regard lto the said screws, so that by adjust-` purpose.

For facilitating the adjustment of the toothed rack a8 to properly gear with the pinion I prefer to make the bent arm carrying-v said rack in two parts, as shown in Figs. l0 and ll, one of which parts is furnished with a protuberance all, upon which the other part bears by the action of four screws als. The said protuberance is disposed centrally with Although my weighing apparatus is particularly intended to be used for indicating the weight and monetary value of the goods weighed, it will be obvious that it can also be` `used for indicating either the weight or the monetary value of the goods by arranging the signs on the aforesaid indicating-druml accordingly. If the apparatus is only required to indicate the weight of the goods,l may make the indicating-drums very short and arrange a pair of them side by side and operate them like the drums of a cyclometer. Such an arrangement is illustrated by Fig.

l2, wherein CX CXX are the drums bearingI numerals to indicate weights. These drums' are mounted upon a horizontal shaft, although they might, if desired, be mounted on a vertical shaft. This shaft has a pinion gearing with a toothed wheel 014', carried by a shaft which is equivalent to the shaft C of thearrangement already described. This shaft also has a pinion gearing with the curved rack onthe arm forming part of the lever A. Said shaft is furnished with a loose crown- Wheel gearing with a pinion carried by a shaft forming part ofthe brake device shown in Fig..8. A spring-disk` on said shaft keeps the said crown-wheel in gear with the pinion, as explained in connection with Fig. 8.

A double row of ligures reading in reverse order is shownv on each drum, so that the customer on one side of the drum and the shopman on the other side can both read the Weight of the goods. i

It will be obvious that when the bent lever A moves under the action of a greater or less weight of goods Iin the goods-pan the amplitude of its movements will not be in absolutely regular progression at all points of its path-that is to say, if for a certain weight of goods the angular movement of the bent lever be five degrees such movement will not be exactly twice as much orten degrees for double the saidweight, but something more or less, according to the manner in which the kbent lever is disposed about its .fulcrum.

with a bent lever having a weight at one-end and a weighing-receptacle at the other end, of a support-in which said lever is fulcro med, a rotary computing-drum vsuspended from said support, transverse pivots on said support suspended from a link for enabling said support to move in a plane coincident with that in which the bent lever moves, pivots on'said link suspended from the standard of the apparatus for enabling said link to move in a ICO IOS

IlO.

lplane at right angles to that in which the aforesaid drum-carrying support moves and means for actuating the said drum as the bent lever turns about its fulcrum, substantially as described. y

2. In Weighing apparatus,thecombination with a bent lever having a weight at one end and a Weighing-receptacleat the other end, of a support in which said lever is fulcrumed, a rotary computing-drum suspended from said support, transverse pivots on lsaid support suspended from a link for enabling said support to movein a plane coincident with that in which the bent lever moves, pivots on said link vsuspended from the standard of the apparatus for enabling said link to move ina plane at right angles to that in which the aforesaid drum carrying support moves, means for actuating the said drum as the bent lever turns about its fulcrum and a' rotary brake device for preventing undue oscillation of the drum as it terminates its movement, substantially as described.

3. In Weighing apparatus, the combination with a bent lever having a weight at one end anda goods-pan at the other" end, of a supyport in which said lever is pivoted, a rotary computing-drum, a non-rotary slotted casing f inclosing said dr`u`m and-suspended from said.

support,'a toothedrack carried bythe bent lever, a shaft carrying said drum and turning in bearings in said casing, a pinion on said shaft gearing with said rack, a toothed wheel loosely mounted on said shaft and connected therewith by a friction device, a pin# ion gearing with the toothed wheel, a spindle parallel with said shaft 'and carrying said pinion, a cross-head on .said spindle, bentvarms pivotally suspended from said crosshead, and a fixed ringsurrounding the be'ntenvds of said arms and adapted to Vrestrain the Irevolution of said spindle when the bent lends come against the inner vsurface of the ring by the action of .centrifugal force, substantially yas and for the purpose specified.

4. In weighing apparatus, the'combination with the bent lever having aweight at one end and a goods-pan at the lother end, ofa support in which said lever is pivoted, a rotary computing-drum, a non-rotary slotted casing inclosing said drum vand suspended from said support, a toothed rack carried by the bent lever, a vertical shaft carrying said drum and turning in bearings in said casing, a pinion on saidshaft gearing with said rack, a' toothed wheel floosely mounted on said shaft, a resilient disk turning with said shaft, and adapted to press against one face of the toothed wheel, means for adjusting thepressure of the disk on the toothed Wheel, an

abutmentxed to the shaft for thejsaid toothed wheel to press against under the .c-

, tion of saidresilient disk, a pinion gearing with said toothed Wheel, a spindle carrying saidv pinion, arms pivotally supported on said spindle, and a fixed ring surrounding the vvfree ends Of said pivotal' arms substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In weighing apparatus, the combination with the bent lever having a weight at one in a vertical plane atriglt angles to that of the bent lever, a rotary computing-drum carried by said frame, and means for actuating said drum as the bent lever turns aboutits pivot substantially as described. e

6. In weighing apparatus, the combination with the bent leverhaving a weight at one end and a goodsspan at' the other end, of a support in which said leveris pivoted, a rotary com puting-drum, a non-rotaryslotted casing inclosing said drum and suspended from said support, a toothed rack 'carrie/d by y said lever and projecting into said casing andv Ldrum through a slot in the casing, a shaft supported in bearings in said casing and carryin'g said drum, a pinion on said shaft gear- ,ing with said '1 -ack, a. circular boss on. said rack concentric withthe pivot of the bent lever, andl a casing covering said slot in the non-rotary casing and conforming at its' upper end to the shape of the circular boss of IOO the rack substantially as and for-the purpose l.

7'. In weighing apparatus, the combination with the bent lever having a weight vat fone end and a goods-pan at Vthe other end, ofa support inywhich 'said lever is pivoted, a ro? tarycomputingdrum, a non-rotary slotted casing inclosing ysaid kdrum and suspended from said support, a toothed rack carried by said lever, ra vertical shaft carryingsaid drum, bearings in said casing supporting said shaft, the upperl bearing being` loose, La pinion on said shaft gearing with said rack, and a spring devicelocated near the 'upper` end fof said shaft and normally tending to 'keep it pressed in a direction to take up the Ibacklash between the rack and pinion, substantially as described.

Inl testimony whereof I have hereunto. set my hand, in presence of two subscribing wit-` nesses, this 13th day ofAugu'st, 1902. i

LEONARD EUGENE. COWEY. Vitnesses':

EDWAanW. JOHNSON, GEORGE 'ISAAC BRIDGES. 

